Lagos Immunises 4.6 Million Children against Polio

Martins Ifijeh

Following the second round of the 2018 National Immunisation Plus Days (NIPDs) aimed at vaccinating children of between ages zero to 59 months against polio in Nigeria, the Lagos State government has vaccinated 4.9 million children across the state.

The campaign, which started Saturday June 30 to Tuesday July 3, 2018 at designated sites, covered 4859 houses, 752 fixed posts, and 1712 transit teams.

Speaking during the last lap of the exercise in Agege local government secretariat, the Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Primary Healthcare, Dr. Olufemi Onanuga noted that the four day programme experienced massive turn out, as the state ensured there were activities which attracted children and caregivers for the exercise. He said the exercise is aimed at boosting the herd of immunity against poliomyelitis, adding that the children received two drops of oral polio vaccines irrespective of their previous immunisation status.

“To ensure the success of this year’s polio vaccination campaign, many training sessions were conducted to strengthen the capacity of relevant health workers. We also did massive media campaigns involving airing of jingles while LGA social mobilizers moved within communities to sensitize and mobilize citizenry effectively,” he explained.

He added, “The responsibility to vaccinate all eligible children against measles is not that of the parents and care givers alone. The responsibility rests on everybody to ensure that children are fully immunised against childhood preventable diseases.

“The state government is particularly interested in the health of the children and as such is prepared to carry out any activity that will ensure that their right to health is attained. Polio is one of the major killer diseases of children under the age of five years which can be prevented by vaccination.”